13. New England Patriots trade for Michael Bennett
Every year in free agency, the New England Patriots remind us that they’re better at football than everyone else. They won their sixth Super Bowl in February and then allowed pretty much all of their free agents to leave.
The Oakland Raiders overpaid for offensive tackle Trent Brown, defensive tackle Malcom Brown joined the New Orleans Saints and defensive end Trey Flowers ended up with the Detroit Lions, reuniting with his former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.
Of all the losses, the Flowers departure seemed as though it could cause the most heartache. That was until the Patriots somehow found a solid pass rushing option for pretty much nothing in return.
New England ended up trading a 2020 fifth-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for veteran Michael Bennett. While he’s going to turn 34 years old this season, Bennett has remained an effective pass rusher. In his lone season with the Eagles, Bennett had nine sacks and 34 tackles.
For reference, Flowers (who signed a five-year, $90 million deal in Detroit) had 57 tackles and 7.5 sacks. While he may be younger and a better overall talent, the Patriots are paying Bennett just over $8 million per season, which is $10 million per season less than what Flowers ended up getting.
It would surprise no one if Bennett has his best season in 2019 while the defense doesn’t miss a beat. New England’s ability to replace players and save a lot of money in doing so is why the Patriots continue to be the best in the NFL.